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Volunteers needed to help prison puppies get taste of outside world By Linda Keay Warwick —Warwick’s Mid-Orange Correctional Facility is looking for a few good puppy lovers. It’s all part of the Puppies Behind Bars program, in which prisoners bring up puppies until they’re ready to go to work. Once they are grown the dogs will do valuable service for the U. S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms or the New York Police Department, or as seeing-eye dogs. Bomb-sniffing dogs were in high demand after Sept. 11, 2001, and they can be seen outside many city buildings today. The Labrador Retriever is the breed of choice because of its personality, excellent nose, and bountiful energy that needs only to be harnessed. While still being nurtured into adulthood, each puppy is assigned a specially trained inmate. But the puppies still need socialization outside of the prison. That’s where the outside volunteers come in. These “puppy sitters” play host to a puppy in their home for at least one weekend per month. Another opportunity is what the organization calls “puppies by the hour,” in which volunteers take the pups on day trips into the community. Certain experiences aren’t available in prison — the sights and sounds of streets and shops, riding in cars, the bustle of busy households. Being exposed to the outside world instills confidence — which can make or break a puppy in its suitability for future training. The Mid-Orange Correctional Facility will start holding training sessions in January for puppy volunteers. The next sessions will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 11, and Wednesday, Jan. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. Both sessions are mandatory. Prisoners who apply to the Puppies Behind Bars program are screened, with no sexual, child, or animal abuse in their backgrounds, according to Ken Silva, a former New York Police Department head trainer and kennel master. He now trains inmates to properly care for the puppies. The puppies go to prison when they are eight weeks old and sleep in crates inside the inmates’ cells. The prisoners are completely responsible for their health and welfare, including housebreaking, night feedings, walking, obedience training, exercise, and play. And they have to keep a log. People who donate money to the program get periodic reports about the dog they’re sponsoring. Rafael Malave, a former Wallkill Correctional Facility inmate, had been sentenced to six years for assault. In 2003 he volunteered for Puppies Behind Bars and ended up taking care of a black Lab named Dorothy. She was released from the program because she developed hip dysplasia when she was six months old (she was adopted). Then Malave got another black Lab named Spodnik. At first a lot of guys showed interest, Malave said, but when they saw how much work was involved, the number of volunteers thinned. He said the inmate who needs nurturing is a bit of a stereotype because that wasn’t his problem. “I’ve always been loved,” he said. “I grew up in a very good family. The big thing for me was learning about responsibility.” But he does grant that for “a lot of guys, the biggest thing they learn about is to love” when they volunteer. For his part, caring for another being was an eyeopener. Before he joined the program, he said, “Everything was about me. I never really thought that was true, but I had lived that way. I couldn’t do that anymore, or the dog will bark, or you’ll have poop.” And putting yourself first isn’t fair, he said. For example, when he’s walking a puppy who wants to stop or sniff something, “I can’t rush, the puppy is just being curious. I need to focus on him.” “I like taking care of others before me now,” he added. “It feels good. I learned, hey, it’s okay to be second. It’s not like I’m weak or something.” Malave, who is 25, was released from prison in early October and is now working for Puppies Behind Bars at its New York City headquarters. Gloria Gilbert Stoga founded Puppies Behind Bars in 1997. She was formerly part of the Giuliani administration’s Youth Empowerment Services Commission. About 130 male and female inmates and 80 puppies are currently participating in the program in six prisons in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. For more information, call 212-680-9562 or go to www.puppiesbehindbars.com.